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Originally Posted by Fiyahstarter
I won't sign an agreement to become a church "member"... You can just count me in as an "attendee" (or even a "rebel" if you prefer... I don't care). But by the same token, my tithes don't necessarily go to a church organization either. (Especially if that organization has silly mandates hung to it.)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiyahstarter
I agree. But sometimes I feel guilty about it... something along the lines of "my tithes are supposed to go to the House of God" or at least that's what the Man of the House says! LOL!
Granted, somebody has to pay the electric bill and what not... If I knew that the money stayed at my local congregation, it would be different. But I've heard it spoken that our church tithes UP to the mothership... and I have a problem with mother! LOL!
(I wish we'd leave UPC in case you haven't guessed.)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhoni
Tithing is not a New Testament principle but a western civilization practice to support church ministries. I will put my money where my heart is and it sure isn't in some of the churches I have seen in the past several years.
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Originally Posted by Digging4Truth
You know...
What it all boils down to is membership in their corporation.
I don't care for membership in their corporation. Membership in the family of God is sufficient.
If a letter is required to be a member of their corporation and you don't want to sign the letter then don't support a corporation which you are not considered a member of.
You will have no vote... except for that vote you put in while on your knees... I think God still has veto power if we still have the faith and patience to wait on Him to do it in His time.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Digging4Truth
What posts would you be talking about. I haven't seen anyone suggest to send money to another ministry etc. And most of the commentary comes from hours of study... not years of hurt
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D4T,
If I have read these posts and misunderstood their meaning then I will be the first to apologize. However it appears to me that much of the comments here suggest that some have no intention of leaving and finding a place they can support, they just choose to not support the place they are being fed. The reality IMHO is simple, if the situation was really so bad that you were not being fed and you could not stand to be there then you should leave. Otherwise by your continued attendance and receiving (eating) from the ministry of the "bad" church/leadership you are in essence someone who is eating and dipping out without paying.
25 years ago I was at my job in a auto dealership where there were 8 or 9 guys who had joined a "no tax" group and had notified payroll not to deduct any taxes from their checks going forward. I will never forget one day the owner of the dealership came out to where these men were and he made a statement that has stuck with me o this day. He said "If you don't want us to deduct taxes from your checks anymore, that's fine! Just don't let me hear you complain ever again about the pot holes in the road, about poor educations, about the parks not being maintained," and so on. I feel the same about the church if you're not going to support it you have no right to complain about it. JMHO
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